There are often times when patrons in a dining or drinking establishment wish to communicate with their waiter, but are unable to attract their attention. These occasions may arise throughout the entire time that a patron is present in the establishment, such as while reading the menu, after the order is served, and after the check is presented. A waiter may not always stop by the patron's table at the time the patron wishes to speak to them. Further, the waiter may hesitate to interrupt a conversation between patrons and therefore may not ask the patrons if they need anything when in fact, they would like service.
Many retail food and beverage establishments currently use some sort of device for presenting a patron's check for their order and for holding the patron's payment until it is collected by the waiter. There are many such devices used for this purpose including plastic or leather-covered portfolios with pockets or clips on the inner portion for retaining the check, paper money, and credit cards. Plastic or metal trays with and without clips for retaining the check, credit card, and paper money, and having raised edges for retaining coins, are also frequently used.
A waiter will often place the device on a table with the check and return later to collect payment. A patron may wish to have the waiter return if there are questions regarding the check and therefore a need exists for means to signal the waiter to return to the table. Further, it is desirable to provide means to indicate to the waiter when the patron has placed payment inside the device, along with the form of payment, such as cash or credit card.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.